The Families in Rossford

IN THE BACK OF the car she sits on his lap while he fucks her. Once it felt good, or twice, but the bulk of the time she just went with it. Hunter’s good looking and that’s supposed to mean something. The moment when he enters her is supposed to be the moment when life begins. That first time how strange it was. Now she’s used to it.

Under her he moves up and down, pushing his cock into her, pulling her down harder and harder. Her thighs ache straddling his waist, but it’s beginning to feel good. It feels so nice, so good. Right now. It’s feeling good for the first time in a while and then—”

“Oooooh,” he groans.

“Fuck.”

He pulls out of her, and rolling to the side, zips his pants back up.

“You’re done?” Maris said, sitting back down and attempting to straighten her underwear, pull down her skirt.

“Yup,” Hunter says.

After a moment he says, “Well, what are you still doing here?”

He leans past her, opens the car door and shows her the way out.

The car drives off and there Maris stands on Demming Street. The air’s getting cool. Winter’s approaching.

She hears laughing and wants to hide in an entryway or in an alley. She moves into a corner and across the street she sees them.

That girl is Maia Meradan, and she is in the middle of boys she probably would never let treat her badly. The Anderson Twins. Their parents are a gay couple. Everyone at school knows that. Smiling, Bennett he looks at Maia like he might kiss her or something. But the moment passes. Elias, good looking enough, says something, and they all head off into the dark, laughing.

“Bennett Anderson,” Maris thinks. “Now, he would treat a girl good.”

---

CHAPTER THREE

PRESENTS

 Sheridan arrived at the party with Logan Banford, and Logan, looking around, said, “Maybe we should have gone someplace else. This place is crowded.”

“Hey you guys!”

Sheridan turned around for the voice and saw Kenny standing with… Dylan’s ex boyfriend.

“Merry Christmas, Kenny,” Sheridan said, looking at him carefully.

“Are you guys just getting here?”

“Yeah,” said Sheridan. “You heading out?”

“Uh, uh. Me and this guy over here are seeing what else is going on in town.”

“On Christmas Eve?” Logan said.

“Yes, Logan,” said Kenny. “On Christmas Eve.”

Kenny handed Ruthven his coat, and then he directed Ruthven Meradan to the door saying, “If a certain dark haired man asks where the auburn prince has gone, tell him he’s retired for the evening.”

“Auburn…” Sheridan began.

But Ruthven hooked an arm through Kenny’s and said, “Come along, auburn prince.”

The two men tittered, heading out the door and Logan, looking at Sheridan, wondered: “What the fuck was that?”

“Hey, Bennett!” Maris shouted over the blaring music. “What’s that in your cup?”

“I’m thinking it’s beer.”

Maris looked into the cup and grinned. She took it and sipped.

“You’re thinking?”

He shrugged.

“Yeah, Bennett, that’s some cheap beer. So what’s up? What brought you out?”

“Whaddo you mean? I come out all the time.”

“You don’t,” Maris said. “And that’s a fact. You’re one of the good boys.”

“Oh, I can be bad when I want to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maris gave him a silly look and he grinned and shrugged.

“I don’t really know.”

“Bennett!” he heard his name called sharply.

He looked around this semi dark room of half drunk teenagers, and couldn’t see a one who would have called out to him like that. Then, suddenly, there she was.

“Maia?”

“Bennett,” Maia said again.

“You’re Maia Meradan,” Maris said.

“Yes,” Maia said, calmly.

“Well, that’s the second person at this party I didn’t expect to see, Siddown and have a drink.”

“Not just yet. Bennett, can I talk to you?”

“I’m having a conversation with the lady.”

Maia looked at Maris who said, “You know what? It’s alright. I’ll be right over there.”

She pointed past her.

“Why are you here?” Bennett said, not unkindly.

“Why are you here?” Maia demanded.

“I got invited.”

“And I’m inviting you to get up and be where you should be.”

“Oh, my God, Maia! You’re not my mother.”

“No. If I was, I’d be some college student who needed money and didn’t care where her babies went after she had them.”

“That’s low.”

“It can get lower, and it can get considerably,” her eyes roved the room, “Blacker, if you don’t go over to your little friend—who’s everybody’s friend by the way—and say goodnight.”

“Are you—?” Bennett realized he was getting loud and lowered his voice. “Are you threatening me?”

“Yes,” Maia said.

The two of them looked at each other, and then Bennett took a breath and said, “I’ll be right back.”

He moved a few paces over and sat down next to Maris.

“You back?”

“I gotta go,” Bennett said. “It’s a family thing.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, I know. Nice meeting you, though.”

Bennett stood up.

“Hey,” Maris said.

“Um hum.”

“Would you like to go out later or something?”

“Aren’t I supposed to ask you that?”

Maris chuckled and said, “That’s cute.           

“Sure. Ask me out.”

“Would you like to go out with me, Maris?”

Maris stood up, and reaching into her pocket she pulled out a slip of paper and scribbled on it.

“Here,” she said, stuffing it in his breast pocket, “is my number.”

She pushed him away a little and said, before turning around, “Good night.”

When Bennett approached Maia, she said, “You like her or something?”

“Why not?” Bennett said, as he and Maia threaded their way through the party goers and out of the door.

“Because she’s a slut,” said Maia.

“Dylan, are you alright?”

“What’s that?” Dylan shook his head and turned around. “Oh, Elias!”

“I said, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Dylan put his hand on Elias’s arm. “What about you?”

“Well, of course I’m fine,” Elias told him. “But you—with Lance and… everything. I just wanted to ask if you were okay.”

Dylan hugged Elias quickly and said, “I’m just fine. You going to the church now?”

“Well Mass is a little more than an hour off, and I’m in the choir.”

“You need a ride?”

“I was just going to walk. Or go over with Meredith.”

“No,” Dylan told him. “Let me get the keys from Dad. I’ll be right back.”

“I really don’t mind,” Elias began, but Dylan was already gone.

The front door opened and Matthew came up behind Elias saying, “Your twin is back.”

He was in the middle of Laurel, Maia and Alex.

“I wonder if Maia knows she likes Bennett?”

“What?” Elias said. “No she doesn’t.”

Then he looked at his younger brother. Bennett was special because they really were twins. They had shared a womb. They had the same birth mother and the same egg donor. Matthew was not genetically linked to either of them. He came out of nowhere and was in some way closed to Elias. He was the one who looked like him, though.

“Are you sure?” he said. Matthew always knew things.

Matthew shrugged and said, “I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Alright, you ready?” Dylan came back. “You going too, Matthew?”

Matthew looked at Elias who said, “Yeah, he is.”

“Well then come on, kids,” Dylan said, throwing an arm over both boys. “Let’s go.”

“This years been so busy we don’t even really get to see each other,” Dylan said.

“Well, you’ve got graduation and planning for college and everything,” Elias told him.

“I still don’t know where I’m going to go.”

“You could go to Loretto,” Elias suggested.

“Dylan probably wants to go to Union,” Matthew said from the backseat.

Elias and Dylan were both quiet.

“Did I say something I wasn’t supposed to? I only meant… Well, for Lance.”

They were quiet and then Matthew said, “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“The kid knows stuff,” Elias said, leaning back to ruffle his younger brother’s hair.

“It’s alright,” Dylan leaned back and told Matthew. “I just didn’t know I was that obvious.”

“Well, he’s your best friend, and you love him,” Matthew said. “And when people love each other they should be together. That’s all.”

“Hey,” Dylan said, as they came out onto Dorr. “You guys wanna drive in circles a bit before I drop you off. Just… look around town a bit? See some lights? It’s been a while.”

“Yeah,” Elias said. “Let’s go.”

They went in the opposite direction of Saint Barbara’s, southwest down Dorr, seeing the patterns of the Christmas lights on the ranch houses that lined the street.

“Do you remember when we built that ice house?” Elias asked.

“I remember you almost had frostbite, and me and Sheridan had to rush you home before your fingers fell off.”

“And Aunt Claire went nuts,” Matthew said.

“I wasn’t worried,” Elias said, solemnly.

He elaborated: “I was scared a bit. At first. And then Dylan had me and I knew I’d be okay.”

Dylan looked at Elias quickly and then looked away, paying attention to the road.

“That’s why even though I understand you going to school with Lance,” Elias said, “I’d still be happy if you stayed here.”

“It’s almost eleven thirty,” Fenn announced. “Time for folks to start rolling up out of here.”

“When are you coming?” Adele said.

“I want to get this house straightened up a little,” her brother said.

“I can help.”

“I can help too,” Nell said.

“That’s when it’s good to have dependable old friends.”

Adele shouted in the direction of Tom and Lee, who were putting on their coats, “That’s when it’s good to have dependable old friends.”

Tom, looking forlorn, said, “Do you need me to help?”

“No,” Fenn greeted him with a flat look.

Tom gave a sigh of relief and Fenn told Lee, “Take him, please.”

Brendan came out of the kitchen asking: “Has anyone seen Kenny?”

The very pregnant Meredith had followed him, and she looked to Dena.

“Kenny left about an hour ago,” she said. “He was talking about the Auburn Prince has left the building. Or something.”

“What the fuck?” Fenn muttered, picking up the nearly empty punch bowl.

“Fenn!” Adele reprimanded. He shrugged, and said, as he was going into the kitchen, “Everybody’s grown here.”

“He went off with Ruthven,” Sheridan said, frankly.

“Ruthven?” Brendan began at the same time that Todd, sitting on the sofa, said, “My nephew?”

“Yeah,” Sheridan said. “I guess they went to… look around town.”

“What the hell is there to look at in Rossford at eleven thirty,” Adele said and Sheridan answered, “Bars. Go to a restaurant or something.”

It seemed a little unlikely, and Sheridan stood up and steered Brendan to the front of the house, near the door.

“I shouldn’t have said that outloud the way I did.”

“It’s all right,” Brendan said.

“Do they even know?”

Brendan shook his head.

“I didn’t feel the need to share it with the whole world right away.”

“Well… are you still going to church?”

“It’s Christmas midnight Mass. Of course.”

“Then go with me and Logan.”

“I didn’t know you and Logan went to church,” Brendan said in a tone that meant he knew Sheridan and Logan didn’t go to church.

“Oh, yeah, we love this old one off the Belmont El stop. Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Not far from Logan’s place.”

He did love it. Sheridan had even been inside of it and looked around. He had never worshiped in it, though, and while Brendan suspected this was the case, he nodded his head and said, “Alright. Let me go get my coat.”

 “Are you coming or not?” they asked Meredith.

Meredith yawned, and placing her hands on her belly, said, “Not.”

“You never miss a midnight Mass,” Chay informed her.

“I know. But this one I am going to miss. Cayla’s been sleeping upstairs. I can wake her up enough to get home, but not to keep her up for church, and I don’t know if I have the energy for it myself.”

“Well, you know,” Chay told her. “I’m not greatly attached to the idea of going to church.  We could stay with you.”

“That’s alright,” Meredith began. And then she said, “Really?”

Chay looked to Casey, and the older man nodded and said, “Really.”

“Oh, good. I didn’t want to sit in Nell’s big ole house alone.”